Harry Potter, the Forgotten Twin
by Lord Blood
Summary: Michael Potter is the BoyWhoLived and is spoiled rotten, while his twin Harry is neglected. So Harry runs away!
1. Chapter 1: From Young to Old

Harry Potter, the Forgotten Twin

Summary: Michael Potter is the Boy-Who-Lived and is spoiled rotten, while his twin Harry is neglected. So Harry runs away!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters you recognize.

Chapter 1: From Young to Old

August 7, 1985, Potter Manor

A small boy of five years old slowly crept out of the large mansion home that he lived in. In his hands was a small trunk, big enough to fit all of his clothes, a small blanket, and several golden coins that he pilfered from the cabinet in his parents' room.

He took paused every three steps to listen for noise, to see if anyone was up. Why was such a young boy running away from a life of assumed indulgence and extravagance? Well, his name was Harry Potter, and as of now, it was a name synonymous of neglected, ignored, and shunned. His twin, Michael Potter, defeated the most evil of all wizards at the age of one. Well, that's what the Headmaster of Hogwarts Witchcraft and Wizardry, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, claimed. So, while Michael got anything he wanted, Harry had to silently fight for survival.

The final point that finally caused the young Harry to leave happened a week ago. It was the day of his fifth birthday, and like any young boy, was excited about his party and the presents. When the guests started arriving, all brought large and extravagant presents for one of the two twins: Michael. The adults seemed to dote on Harry's slightly pudgy twin and ignored Harry himself. Even his own parents forgot about him! Proof of this was the cake they brought out. The words "Happy birthday Michael!" were written in icing on the cake. No mention of Harry was to be made at all that day, and the young boy trudged up slowly to his room, large tears in his eyes.

To say he was only sad was a giant understatement. He felt horrible. His parents ignored him and talked to him as if he were someone else's adorable five year old son. Most of the time they didn't even remember he was here! And thus started Harry's planning to running away.

Now back to the present, the young five year old ran the last few steps before turning back around, determination in his vivid green eyes.

"Goodbye," he whispered quietly, and that was the last anyone saw of him.

* * *

10 Years Later, Hogwarts 

Albus Dumbledore sat down with his head in his hands. He let out a despondent sigh and reached for one of his precious sour lemon drops. Taking one and putting it in his mouth, he thought about the past few years after the Boy-Who-Lived, Michael Potter arrived at Hogwarts.

In '91, Michael's first year, he stumbled upon Quirrel with his two friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. By the luck of the devil, Quirrel, who was watching Michael atop a tall set of stairs, misplaced his foot on a step as he walked down and broke his neck, killing him immediately. Voldemort's body, which was residing in Quirrel, fled back to wherever it came from with a menacing howl.

In Michael's second year, the Chamber of Secrets opened again, and several students were petrified, including Dean Thomas, Terry Boot, and Cedric Diggory. The perpetrator was apparently Luna Lovegood, who happened to be possessed by the memory of Albus' old apprentice, Tom Marvolo Riddle. Once again, Michael Potter and his two friends happened to be in the Forbidden Forest at the time and came upon the massive basilisk feeding on a gargantuan Acromantula while the possessed Luna watched. The trio ran away as quick as they could and when young Michael ran into a tree, one of the branches atop fell down and skewered the basilisk through the head. The diary, by which the memory of Tom resided in, disappeared in the midst of the running and was found the next day by a first year in the Owlery, being chewed upon by a large Horned Owl.

Third year was the escape of Peter Pettigrew, one of Albus' old pupils, from Azkaban. The man, believed guilty of betraying the Potters to Voldemort, came to Hogwarts. Once again, Michael stumbled upon the haggard Peter Pettigrew, who, in his deranged haste to kill Michael for his long-gone master, ran towards the young Boy-Who-Lived and tripped over a stone. The end result was that Peter Pettigrew was impaled on someone's stolen wand. The body was pissed upon by his ex best friends James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin, and later fed to a bunch of hungry wolves.

In '94, Lucius Malfoy kidnapped Michael during a Hogsmeade weekend and used his blood as one of the ingredients in a dark ritual that restored Tom back to life. Regardless, Michael escaped again by stealing Malfoy's extra portkey when the man was holding his bleeding hand, where he cut off his middle finger. ("Totally useless," he commented about the finger a few moments before he cut it.)

Through all these adventures Michael escaped from Tom or one of his servants by sheer luck. _Where have I gone wrong?_ Albus silently asked himself. Michael was supposed to the savior of the Wizarding World, and yet his magic was only a tiny bit stronger than the average first year. Yes. It's true. In comparison, Michael as a fourth year was only a tiny bit more powerful than a pureblood first year.

Perhaps...No, it couldn't be...Could it?

Perhaps Harry Potter was the real Boy-Who-Lived, not Michael. Perhaps that lightning bolt scar on Harry's forehead was the true symbol of Voldemort. But no. It can't be. Harry Potter disappeared ten years ago and was never seen again. He's dead, isn't he?

Albus Dumbledore, savior of the Light spent the rest of the day thinking about Michael and Harry Potter.

* * *

A hooded man with a cane strode down an alley quickly. His blond hair was out of place as he got excited at the thought of torturing the man who was following him and getting information for his revered Lord. Oh yes, he sensed a pair of eyes on his back the moment he apparated into Diagon Alley. A sneer was plastered onto his face at the thought of an amateur tailing him. 

He turned a corner into a dead end and spun around, wand in hand. A second individual walked in several minutes later.

'A child!' he thought. The second man was a lot shorter than the first, and his stature looked like a teenager's.

"_Diffindo_!" A blue beam shot out of the first man's wand, straight at the second man.

The second man merely sidestepped the beam and laughed. The laugh sent shivers down the first man' spine, and spurred him to kill this second man as quick as possible, rather than take him alive, which was his original purpose.

"_Explodra! Diffindo! Reducto! Flamma!_" He shot off several curses at once, but none hit. No Unforgivables yet, as they would undoubtedly attract the attention of the Ministry.

The second man, bored of the first's incompetence, pulled out a short knife and threw it at the first. The first's eyes widened as the knife struck him in the chest. His eyes were full of shock and he looked down to see a black handle protruding from his chest.

He felt it becoming harder to breath as the seconds wore on. It seems the knife struck his lung. The blood was quickly filling up his lung, which reduced his capacity to breath in air.

His gray eyes flashed at the thought of being killed, and as a last act of desperation, pulled out a highly illegal dagger out of his cane. The dagger was only considered illegal because of the numerous poisons it was dipped in. He lunged forward, knife still in his lung, and attempted to stab the approaching man, but missed when the man stepped back.

The man's face was concealed under a dark hood, but you could just feel the intensity of the man's unseen eyes. As the first man slowly breathed in, the second man pulled back his hood to reveal jet-black hair, startling green eyes, and a lightning bolt scar on his forehead.

The first man's breath hitched...and that was the last breath he took.

* * *

_Pathetic..._

The man pulled out his ornate knife from Lucius Malfoy's chest and wiped the blood off on Malfoy's expensive-looking robes.

'Such a waste,' he thought of the robes.

The assassin reached into his robes and threw his calling card onto Malfoy's dead corpse, before disappearing with a pop. The calling card looked like a normal card in a 54-card deck at first glance, when you took a second glance at it, you'd realize it was very different from a regular card.

It was signed, '_Joker.'_ The Joker's face was distorted into a sadistic grin. The Joker was surrounded by several dangerous-looking knives. Each knife was black, both blade and handle. The knives themselves looked to be painted in red, but if you used your brain, you would realize it wasn't paint. It was blood...

* * *

Murder in the Alley!

by Rita Skeeter

Yesterday morning, Aurors were dispatched to an alley branching off Diagon Alley. The Ministry picked up signs of barely legal magic being used, and when they arrived, the scene they found was horrific.

The body of Lucius Malfoy laid on the ground, and a large red stain was apparent on his robes. A card was discovered next to the body. It was signed Joker, and it seems whoever murdered Mr. Malfoy left his calling card to mark his work.

Minister Fudge had this to say on the murder: "Whoever killed Lucius Malfoy will be heavily punished. He was an outstanding man who donated to charity for victims of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and attended several Ministry Balls! We will do whatever we can to avenge the murder of Lucius. He was a great man. I offer my condolences to the Malfoy family for the loss of an upstanding father and husband."

However,when the Aurors searched Mr. Malfoy's robes, they found a white mask in his pocket! Yes, dear readers, a Death Eater mask!

The question now is whether the mask belonged to Mr. Malfoy, or if it was planted there by the murderer. The Ministry is looking into it now.

Mr. Malfoy is a great friend to Minister Fudge, so what'll happen if it is decided he is a servant of You-Know-Who.

* * *

AN: Yes, 54 card deck. I counted the two jokers. 

My other story has not been abandoned. I just need some time to think about where I'm going with that story.

This story is going to be a brother-of-BWL story, but Harry went to a "special" school. And I don't mean special as in Hogwarts special. It's a different kind of special.

* * *


	2. Chapter 2: A New Job

Chapter 2: A New Job

November 19, 1995, Location Unknown

A young man dressed in a plain black robe burst through the door. He strode over to a couch in a fairly large apartment, where he took off his robes to reveal a mop of messy black hair and a pair of smouldering green eyes. He ran his hand through his hair to reveal a wicked-looking scar in the shape of a lightening bolt. Underneath his robes he wore a vest made of the finest dragon hide vest available that matched his dragon hide boots. He also had on a pair of black silk pants that was the same color as his hair. Following that, he reached his hand up to his covered face and removed a special mask.The mask was silver in color, and the shape was that of a smiling Joker whose grin looked plain _evil. _One might say that it was the face of the devil's.

After removing his mask, he unstrapped a plethora of things that were concealed on his body. Off came a pair of black short swords, several throwing knives, two black daggers with curved blades, several potions that were strapped to a belt around his waist, and a deck of cards that all had his symbol on it: a Joker. Even the cards were considered weapons by his friends, many of whom were in the same job profession as he.

When he graduated from his school, a mentor gave him a deck of charmed cards that could be used like a throwing knife; that is, the cards could be thrown and could cut through flesh like a knife through butter. He himself had charmed the cards to look the way they currently did, and he was quite proud of his work.

The Joker had come back to his unplottable home after another successful job. His bank account had also "suddenly" increased by several million US dollars. He was very satisfied with his job. After all, it's not every day that one worked as an assassin for governments around the world and for private rich people. His latest job was to "erase" the newest drug kingpin to arise in Cuba, and the US government were more than happy to provide him with some luxuries to keep his silence when he finished.

As he finished undressing, he stepped into the bath that a house elf had prepared for him and relaxed. This was the only time that he was ever without his weapons. Not even when he slept did he let go of his things, as they had saved his life many times.

Several hours later, he got up out of the bath and dried himself off with a large fluffy towel. When he was totally dry, he slowly put on his clothes. First it was the dragon hide vest; then came a slightly loose black t-shirt; after that came his black silk pants; after the pants came his boots; after the boots came the elaborate set up of weapons that he normally had on him; and finally, after the weapons, came a thick black cloak that concealed all his weapons and covered his face. This cloak happened to be very special to him, since it came from a mentor and had the magical ability to conceal his face so that whoever looked in would not see a thing. The cloak was also spelled to be resistant to the weather, all minor curses, and to Accio charms.

Just as he finished dressing himself, a ring sounded through the apartment.

"Alright, alright, damn phone. Who the hell is calling me now?" He picked up the cellphone that was lying on the table in the kitchen and pressed the green button which would allow who ever was calling to talk to him.

"Hey Joker, I got another job for you. Some old lady wants you to take someone out."

"Yeah, John, I got it. How much am I getting paid for this one, who am I offing, is there a time frame, and do you have any information about where I could find the target?" the Joker asked. John was one of the Joker's informants, and also was a friend who went to the same school as he did. Although the Joker specialized in assassinations, stealth, and recovery missions, John prided himself as the best when it came to reconnaissance, spying, and information gathering missions.

"Your client is offering 600,000 galleons, you're offing Bellatrix Lestrange, the old lady said as soon as possible, and I have no idea where to find your target," John replied, slightly amused, as he even, a Muggle, knew who Bellatrix Lestrange was. Although he knew about the world of Magic, as did all their classmates, he misunderstood about how feared Lestrange actually was.

Joker's eyes widened when he heard that his new client was offering galleons. This meant that the person was a witch, and he didn't get too many job offers from the magical folk (too arrogant to hire others to do their dirty work, Joker claimed). And to think, his target was Bellatrix Lestrange. _THE _Bellatrix Lestrange! The crazy right hand woman of the Dark Lord Voldemort! This made finding her so much easier. He just had to wait for news of a raid and he would (more than likely) be able to find her. His spy network was so large that if a raid happened anywhere in England, he'd know about it instantly.

Now all he could do was sit back and relax, until his informants gave him any new information.

* * *

A little more than a week went by before Joker heard about a raid in Hogsmeade, the only Wizarding town in all of England. When his informant told him about it, he immediately put his book away, delicately placed his creepy-looking mask on his face, and stored his weapons deep within the folds of his cloak. He left the comforting confines of his quaint apartment and apparated to the Shrieking Shack, a sinister and hopeful grin on his face.

* * *

November 28, 1995, Hogwarts 

The school was in an uproar. The students of Hogwarts had their first Hogsmeade weekend in two months, and it was understandable that the students were excited. Many were discussing about their dates, quidditch, or even homework.

Three lone students, however, were not.

"But Headmaster, are you sure about this?" Hermione Granger asked.

"Yes, I'm quite sure, Ms. Granger. The kids need to get out and relieve their stress. The Order will be there, and I've convinced Madam Bones to send several Aurors to patrol the town."

"But what happens if Death Eaters attack? It's dangerous and the students could be hurt!"

"Yeah," an arrogant Michael Potter added. "But I can help, Hermione. After all, I'm the Boy-Who-Lived!"

Sighing, Hermione nodded her head in resignation. "Alright then..."

The Golden Trio, as Michael Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger were known as, quickly left Professor Dumbledore's office to rejoin their classmates in line to leave the school.

When they got outside, the trio first headed to Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop, where Hermione purchased three new quills. After that, Ron and Michael dragged Hermione to Honeydukes and spent close to twenty gallons on candy (well, at least Michael did). Zonko's was next, and once again, Hermione had to be dragged there. She protested the entire way, complaining about "immature pranks". She refused to go in, and instead waited outside for the two boys. Twenty minutes later, and the boys still had not left Zonko's. Hermione finally had enough, and barged in. She dragged the two infantile boys and strode towards the Three Broomsticks, where they had promised to meet the rest of their friends for lunch.

As soon as they entered, they were stopped by Madam Rosmerta. "Ooh, Mr. Potter, I've saved a seat for you and your friends, my dear," she flirted. Michael blushed, as did many boys in hearing range when they head the low, sultry voice of the barmaid.

The trio headed towards the table and sat down. Madam Rosmerta was immediately there, three butterbeers in hand. "Here you go," she said with that same sultry voice. As she walked back to the bar, she shook her hips a little, causing the pants of all nearby boys to suddenly tighten.

"I hope the Chudley Cannons do better this year," Ron suddenly announced.

Michael replied, "The Cannons suck, Ron! The Holyhead Harpies are _sooooo _much better! And the players are hot! I bet Angelina is gonna join their team in a few years. We should probably go ask for her autograph before she becomes a professional..."

Hermione rolled her eyes as the two boys continued to bicker about which Quidditch team was better. She was about to tell the boys to knock it off when an explosion sounded outside. The trio immediately pulled out their wands, while the rest of the patrons in the bar screamed and ducked under their tables. They rushed outside, only to see total pandemonium. A group of Death Eaters were standing down the road, with their wands drawn and aimed at the townsfolk. The lead Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange, stood without her mask in the front. She cackled her insane laugh while shooting random killing curses at whoever happened to be standing nearby. Five people were dead within fifteen seconds.

"Ickle baby Potter, where are you?" she sang out as she continued to fire the Unforgivables. The rest of the Death Eaters slowly advanced like a pack of panthers hunting its prey. People would later reflect that the manner in which they did so was nearly professional, and the trio would laugh whenever they heard Death Eaters being referred to as "professional". As the black-clad men stalked forward, the townsfolk began to run the other way, screaming their heads off. Not a single person was level-headed enough to fire-call the Aurors. Michael, in a typically arrogant manner, strode forwards.

"I'm here! Why don't you go back to the holes you came from before I decide to single-handedly beat you up?" he declared flippantly.

Lestrange, in response, laughed again, her shrill laughter causing Michael to wince.

"So baby Potter thinks he can play with the grown ups eh?" she yells back. "_Crucio_!" Bellatrix snapped her wand forward and yelled out the unforgivable, which struck Michael in the chest. The unfortunate Michael fell immediately and succumbed to its painful effects. "Music to my ears," Bellatrix sighed out as Michael continued to scream.

The other Death Eaters ignored Bellatrix's fun time with Michael and continue to stalk forwards ever so slowly, gaining ground foot by foot. Eventually they reached the edge of Hogsmeade, but they did not stop there. They continued to prowl forwards, and as they passed each building, several _Reducto_'s and _Bombarda_'s would strike out and demolish the stores. Finally, the group reached the center of Hogsmeade, and a lot of pops sounded the air.

The Order of the Pheonix has arrived.

The ragtag group of fighters shot out a barrage of _Stupefy_'s. The enemy Death Eaters that were hit paused for a second before they continued to advance. All attacks against the buildings and civilians stopped. Their wands were instead aimed at the vigilantes, who increased the attack. Stray bolts of red light lit up the sky. The Death Eaters continued to march, and they had not open fired on the Order yet. One Order member chose that time to fire a more damaging curse than the stunning curse

"_Bombarda_!" the man yelled. The curse streaked right towards one of the Death Eaters, and it smashed into his head. His companions were showered in a rain of blood and brains, but they continued to move onwards as if a curse hadn't just blown up their comrade's head. The Order members balked at this ruthlessness, but then something even more surprising (and scary) happened. The headless Death Eater's body picked itself up and brandished its wand at the Order, continuing to advance forward with his fellow soldiers.

The Order members stared in shock at the moving corpse. "They're zombies!" the same man yelled out in fear, as he took a step back in fear. Zombies and inferi are quite different from each other. Inferi were used as moving shields back in the Middle Ages when Necromancy was quite popular. Resurrecting dead corpses to just stumble around was the work of a normal amateur necromancer. Zombies were considered to be a more advanced form of Necromancy, and were considered to be the work of master necromancers. The zombies had no mind of its own, but it could take more complex orders than the inferi. If the corpse used to make the zombie was a wizard, the zombie would then also be able to use magic, which is what made zombies so much more dangerous. Another big difference between zombies and inferi is that decapitation and fire works wonders on inferi. On the other hand, zombies needed to be bludgeoned to pieces or melted down.

Dumbledore, shocked at how Voldemort managed to procure the services of a master necromancer (as they were quite rare and hard to find; it was rumored that master necromancers never offered their services for anyone, since they preferred to stay in the shadows), snapped back to attention. "Kingsley, Nymphadora, find the necromancer controlling these undead and do whatever is necessary to stop him! The rest of you, use bludgeoning and fire curses only!" he yelled, all semblance of an elderly man gone. Dumbledore himself jabbed his elegant wand forward and with a nonverbal command, a spew of fire was unleashed upon the front lines of the moving undead. The ones that were hit by the scorching fire burned to a pile of bones and sludge on the ground.

A flurry of _Incendio_'s, _Reducto_'s, and _Bombarda_'s slammed into the enemy forces, and while many were defeated, the rest continued on mindlessly, still not firing any curses. The Order members were slowly being pushed back, and they all took small steps towards the gates of Hogwarts.

By now, all the villagers and students (except for the Golden Trio of course) were evacuated. Soon, the attacking forces were forced to retreat into Hogwarts. The gate slammed and shut, and the advancing Death Eaters suddenly stood at attention.

On one side of the Hogwarts gates stood the Order of the Pheonix and any capable students, who had rushed out moments ago. On the other side, stood the insane Bellatrix Lestrange and a legion of undead zombies dressed in Death Eater garb.

The two sides stared each other down. After a minute of this, the zombie Death Eaters pulled their wands back in unison to begin the wand movements of the killing curse. "_Avada_-"

_Boom!_

The rear flank of the Death Eaters was suddenly torn apart from the blast. All present turned to look at the source that caused the explosion. Everyone was shocked when a lone figure emerged from the smoke. It seemed that a third side has joined the war.

* * *

Author's Note: No matter what I tried, I couldn't get myself to explain how I wanted the Joker mask to look like. So here's a picture: the fifth one down on the left side, and it's called comedy paper mache mask. The color is similar to what I imagined it to be, but the holes that make up the eyes aren't "evil-looking" enough for me. But just picture that mask when you think of the Joker's mask. 


	3. Chapter 3: Battle in Hogsmeade

Chapter 3: Battle in Hogsmeade

November 28, 1995, The Shrieking Shack

_Pop!_

The Joker arrived with a pop at the old decrepit house. He brushed off the dust that landed on him upon his arrival and calmly strode out of the building. He took in a deep breath of cool air as he got ready for a fun fight. From his place, he could see the back of the Death Eater army as they arrived at the center square. He observed that they looked like professional killers, much like him. For that, he could respect them. The Order of the Pheonix soon arrived, and his respect immediately disappeared as he found out that the Death Eaters were actually zombies in Death Eater garb. That meant that a master necromancer was nearby, and the only other place that gave a clear view of the battle was the roof of a run-down building at the edge of the town.

Now here he was in a dilemma. 'Should I hunt down the necromancer or should I just go fight Lestrange? On one hand, I wouldn't have to deal with the zombies. On the other hand, those pathetic Order members might think I was an enemy, or even worse, they'd think I was _helping _them! Hmmm...a dilemma for sure.' A few more moments of pondering and he made up his mind. His mission came first. This meant that his only target would be Lestrange.

Alright, to an omniscient audience, one might assume that this Joker fellow was quite an unpleasant and evil person. Unpleasant? Yeah sure. Cold? Definitely. Cynical? Yup. Cruel? Most of the time. But evil? Most definitely not! Deep down behind his mask (not just literal, but his figurative mask) he was a good person. Years of suffering by his own _family_ turned him this way. His twin brother was believed to be a hero, so his parents and their friends spent all their time lavishing their attention upon their "precious baby boy". He was nothing. Nothing but the forgotten twin.

When he ran away ten years ago, he was naught but a lost orphan, deciding that he would forsake his name and family. He stumbled upon someone who would later become his beloved mentor, and said mentor brought him to a school where he worked as a teacher. The school was a school for the elites. You needed an invitation to join, and most joined after some time, since they needed to be able to prove that they were worthy of joining this school. Joker was lucky, since his mentor gave him his invitation. After joining the school, he spent most of his time studying obscure points of magic and training with his mentor, eventually becoming the top student in his year. What is he good at, you ask? Well, a better question would be, what _isn't _he good at? But those secrets are for another day, after all, one never knows who his enemies are.

Now in the present ten years later, he was a feared man in the both the muggle and magical underworld, despite being at the age of fifteen. After all, one cannot be expected to not gain a level of notoriety after dispatching half of the muggle and magical Japanese Yakuza by oneself. In the muggle world, he was known as the best assassin in the business. In the magical world, rumors of the Joker spread through dark bars, where the Joker would always get his target, if you can hire his services.

'The time for fun has begun...' the Joker thought to himself as he ran down the slope towards the back of the zombies. One flick of the wand and a giant red beam soared towards those unknowing undead.

_Boom!_

As soon as the spell had left his wand, he used his magic to pump up his legs, giving him the leg strength to jump several stories up in the air. However, he only used about 25 percent of this magic-induced strength to jump atop the shop closest towards him. He absently noticed that the shop had a large sign stating "Weasleys' Wizarding Weezes" before standing at attention like a soldier with his wand held to loosely his side. Struck by a spell? Already? Oh no, that was just his battle pose. It made him seem ferocious without even doing much. And indeed, the onlookers looked up at awe at this new force. The Joker smiled to himself as the Hogwarts students and Order members were dumbstruck at this new arrival.

---

_Back with the Order_

"Albus! Who is that?" an elderly professor by the name of Minerva McGonagall asked the mentioned man.

Dumbledore himself looked up at this new force, and responded with a clear shrug. "We can only hope, Minerva, that he is a friend."

---

The Joker stood atop the building and surveyed the people below him. He locked eyes with his target and said in a deep voice, "Bellatrix Lestrange. Your time is up. I come here on behalf of the words of Satan, who seeks your soul. May you burn in hell for your crimes against humanity." The Joker waisn't much of a religious guy. He just couldn't resist saying something as scary as that. And besides, it also helped increase his reputation.

As soon as he finished, he added some more magic to his feet, and the power boost increased his speed. His legs tensed and faster than the eye could blink he was behind Lestrange, his wand raised.

"_Diffindo_!" he said calmly, and the beam of light smashed into her back. Unfortunately, being the skilled dueller that she was, she already had a shield up that took the brunt of the attack, although a gash still appeared on the back of her robes. Blood spilled out and she went flying into the side of the zombies, bowling over three of them at the same time.

Joker stood there, waiting for her to get up. His blood was boiling with excitement and the adrenaline was pumping faster and faster, but he didn't show any of it outwardly. "C'mon Lestrange, get up," he said with a blank expression still stuck on his face. After all, assassins shouldn't _have _emotions when doing jobs.

She responded with a growl and slowly picked herself up. She cradled her left shoulder, which was dislocated upon impact with the zombies. Using her wand, she snapped her shoulder back into its joint and growled at this new entity. 'How dare he,' she thought, as her eyes slitted in anger.

Unfortunately for the Joker, he, in his excitement to fight Lestrange, totally forgot about the surrounding zombies. Two immediately jumped forth with wands firing spells of destructive degree. Joker saw the two different-colored beams out of the corner of his eye and ducked. The two beams smashed into each other, creating a small explosion which blew Joker aside. He flipped through the air until he finally touched down. His eyes closed and he concentrated for a second. When he opened his eyes, both of his hands were covered in a light blue sheen of magic.

Back when he was still a student, he created his own branch of magic. Although it isn't as fancy and doesn't produce pretty lights like others, its effects are quite well...effective. He found out he had a great control over his magic during school one day, and was struck by an idea. If you can channel magic into your wand to cast spells, why can't you do it with your palm? Or your fingers? With that in mind, he spent the next year working on the specifics on this new magic. He coated his fist, palm, and fingers with magic, which required meticulous control. After the magic was added, he attempted to punch a tree. To his surprise, the tree blew up in an explosion of splinters. Another year passed and he declared that the he finally developed the branch completely. Its name is the Magic Touch.

Joker rushed straight to the two zombies. With his wand in his right hand, he let loose a _Reducto_ at point blank at the zombie on his right. With his left hand curled in a magic-coated fist, he punched straight through the zombie on his left. Needless to say, not much was left of the two corpses.

He turned back around just in time to see Bellatrix Lestrange shooting the Killing curse at him. He inwardly cursed and sidestepped the curse, before snapping his wand forward. A vivid stunning curse emerged from the wand and streaked right over to Lestrange. Her shield once again came up in time to block, but the force that Joker put into the curse easily broke the shield. Right before the curse would've knocked her out, one zombie dove in front, taking the curse at its maximum. The zombie was blown up by the sheer power that the stunning curse possessed.

Bellatrix mentally thanked her lord for allowing her to take lead of today's attack, since it allowed her to fight such a worthy and powerful opponent.

After Bellatrix got back up again, the two stared each other down, both excited at the prospect of fighting a worthy opponent, but only one showed it on the outside. The zombies ceased attacking the Joker, and instead surrounded the two duellers, forming a makeshift ring. The people still within the safe confines of Hogwarts watched the back of the zombies. Only a few tall enough to see over them could watch the fight between the two.

Another minute passed. The moment a small leaf gently touched the ground, the two burst into magical combat.

"_Flamma_!"

"_Crucio_!"

"_Bombarda_!"

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

"_Reducto Maximus_!"

Bellatrix cursed as she saw the enormous beam that was about to hit her. She dived at the last second, and the curse instead tore through the ranks of the zombie Death Eaters. Unfortunately, more seemed to fill up the hole created, and the makeshift ring was back.

The Joker let loose a laugh. "What, does the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange only know Unforgivables? I know _kids _who could do better than that!" he taunted.

His response from Lestrange was only the gritting of her teeth. Suddenly her behavior took a 180 degree change. "Well," she said sweetly, "you _are_ a very good duelist. How would you like to join my master? I'm sure he would be pleased if you joined us."

"No thanks, I don't bow down before hypocritical fools," he responded.

Ignoring the barb at her master, she questioned, "Hypocritical?"

"Ohoho! It seems even his most loyal servants don't know his _true _heritage, huh? He is always boasting about how he is a descendant of Slytherin, but have you ever wondered who is on the other side of the family tree? Perhaps it is a pureblood. After all, no one else would be this hateful towards muggles, muggleborns, and halfbloods! But alas," he paused dramatically. "That is not true! His father was a muggle! And you people serve a halfblood, all while spouting rubbish about pureblood supremacy!"

Here Bellatrix Lestrange let loose an ear-piercing shriek. "That's a lie! My master is _not _a filthy halfblood! It's not true!"

"Oh? Allow me to give you a brief lesson in history. Tom Marvolo Riddle, born on December 31, 1926 to Merope Gaunt, whose family descended from Slytherin and to Tom Riddle, a muggle from Little Hangleton! Raised in a Muggle orphanage in London after his mother died and his father abandoned him! He went to Hogwarts in 1938, sorted into Slytherin, made prefect in '42, won a medal for Magical Merit for "special services" to the school, namely framing Rubeus Hagrid for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets, made Head Boy in 1944, and created his own Slytherin cliche, which eventually evolved into the future Death Eaters. He graduated in 1945 at the top of his year and was considered to be the most promising student. Great things was to be expected of him, but instead, after graduating, he went to work at Borgin and Burke's. In 1956, the first Death Eaters were created! Antonin Dolohov, Mulciber, Nott Sr., and Rosier were the among the first to join. And finally, the most damning evidence!" Here he paused and lifted his wand. He traced out the name "Tom Marvolo Riddle" into the air with his wand, and with a flick, the letters rearranged themselves. Bellatrix watched with her full attention as the name Tom Marvolo Riddle changed to "I am Lord Voldemort".

The feared lieutenant of the Dark Lord could only look on in shock as it was revealed that her master was a _half blood_. Unfortunately for her, her musings were interrupted by the teacher who gave the history lesson.

"Anyway, it matters not, since you will not live long enough to do anything about it. _Sectumsempra_!" The dark form of the cutting curse slammed into Bellatrix. Her face was still in shock, even as the spell split her into two.

Immediately after Lestrange was killed, the zombie Death Eaters collapsed into unmoving heaps on the ground.. Joker stood there, his eyes looking like an owl's, and blinked several times. 'What the he-...No way. Lestrange was the necromancer the entire time?!'

It appeared that he _was _wrong the entire time. Voldemort never hired a master necromancer, which actually made sense, since they were hard to find and usually did not choose to serve. 'I guess Bellatrix was trained in the arts of Necromancy,' he thought, before finally noticing that the Order members left the safety of the school and were quickly approaching him.

---

_Order's View_

After this new masked entity engaged Bellatrix Lestrange in a fight, whispers started up among the people present.

"Who is this guy?"

"That man is suicidal!"

"Lestrange is gonna _kill _him!"

The whispers soon died down when Voldemort's heritage was revealed. Everyone was in shock at the truth of the most evil Dark Lord in a century being a half blood. Everyone that is, except Dumbledore.

When the man told the story of Tom's past, Dumbledore's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. He was surprised beyond belief. He assumed that he was only one to know of Tom's history, but it appears he was proved wrong today.

After the story telling was over, the whispers started up again about this new revelation. Once again, the whispers disappeared when Bellatrix was cut into two. Shock adorned the people's face, and the Death Eater zombies' fall brought them out of their stupor.

The first one to react was Albus, who sped off towards the one who defeated Lestrange. He got their so fast that some people thought he apparated there.

"Excuse me young man!" the old headmaster called out to the newcomer, who was about to take his leave. The newcomer turned his head back slowly and his piercing green gaze was locked onto Albus himself. "Will you please come with me? I'd like to talk to you...privately."

The newcomer thought about it for a few seconds before he responded.

---

Joker's face turned back to Dumbledore after he called for his attention, who he noticed was far ahead from the rest of the crowd.

"Will you please come with me? I'd like to talk to you...privately."

Joker stopped and thought about it for a few seconds.

'Hmmm...do I want to talk to them? Well not really...but it's just a talk right? It's not like they're gonna ask for my help, and even if they did, I'd charge them.'

"Alright," he finally said. "I'll come and talk with you."

---

Dumbledore, the newcomer, and the senior "council" of the Order stood in the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts. The silence was awkward, and was finally broken

"So...who _are _you?" a man asked. The black-haired man, whose gray eyes sparkled with admiration, looked like he was about to bow down before the newcomer who had defeated and killed his cousin Bellatrix in a duel.

Joker ignored the man who asked him a question, instead taking a look around the office. He noticed several prominent members, like Sirius Black, who was the one who tried to get his identity, Arthur Weasley, patriach of the Weasley family, Remus Lupin, known werewolf, Mad-Eye Moody, most paranoid auror, Elphias Doge, an elderly man rumored to be as old as Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Dumbledore's right hand woman, Kingsley Shacklebolt, an accomplished auror, Severus Snape, ex-Death Eater, Edgar and Amelia Bones, a pair of powerful Aurors, Frank and Alice Longbottom, also powerful Aurors and finally, James and Lily Potter.

Joker's lips curled in disgust as he looked at the Potters. It was _these _two that caused him to run away about ten years ago.

Finally deciding to speak up, the Joker replied, "You can call me Joker."

"Please, please, let's not fight," Dumbledore said, placating the upcoming fight. "Now, Mr. Joker, can you tell me what you were doing here in Hogsmeade when the Death Eaters attacked?"

"I'm an assassin, plan and simple, and some lady hired me to kill Lestrange. After getting the request, I waited until I received news of an attack, and well what do you know? Lestrange happened to be here," he finished with a shrug.

All of the people present recoiled in shock at this blunt admission. An assassin? Who would hire such people?

Before anyone could say anything though, Dumbledore asked another question. "Who hired you?"

The Joker snorted. "I'm an assassin remember? It wouldn't be good for business if I told everyone who my clients are. Nof if you don't mind, I really need to go and collect my reward."

That's when disaster (for the Joker) struck.

Just as he turned to leave, Sirius Black bounced right up to him and slapped him on the back, meaning to congratulate him on offing his despicable cousin. Unfortunately, during the fight, the bands that kept the mask on his face were loosened by the fighting, and Black's hard thump of the back knocked the mask straight off.

Everyone was frozen in shock when they saw the masked man's face. His messy jet black hair was familiar, and his emerald green eyes were unmistakable. The lightning bolt scar on his forehead, was what everyone noticed.

Lily, who was quietly standing with her husband James off to the side, choked. "H-H-Harry?"

---

Author's Note: mardigrascostumes (dot) com/fullpapermache (dot) htm

That's the website I meant to show you from last chapter. Fifth mask down on the left side is what I envisioned for Harry to wear. Something like it, at least.


	4. Chapter 4: Interlude: A History Lesson

Chapter 4: Interlude: A History Lesson

_"To achieve prosperity, equality must first be found.."_

_-Marche Des Paire, first headmaster and founder of Morgana's School of Magicks and Sorcery_

_---_

The Morgana's School of Magicks and Sorcery is widely renowned as the best school of magic in the entire world. Ever since its founding ten years after the Four Founders founded Hogwarts, it has produced student after student with Masteries every single year. The students not only consisted of wizards, but werewolves, vampires, goblins, veela, and elves (not house elves, mind you, but actual elves with pointy ears and everything). These aren't the only races that attend this magnificent school, just the ones that have more students in the school. Teachers teach a wide range of subjects, from the most basic of classes (like cooking and cleaning), to the most advanced (like necromancy and blood magic).

After producing so many powerful students, an occasional Dark Lord would always try to take over the school, but they could not. Why? That's simple. Simply, they could not find it. The school was hidden by Des Paire after its first Dark Lord attack five years after its founding, and its secrets are as widely sought after as the secrets of the Library of Alexandria or the city of Atlantis. Not even its students knows where the school is located.

The only possible way to reach the school is through the use of a T-Stone, or teleportation stone. Teleportation stones are specially made stones that allow the user to instantly teleport from their current destination to the entrance of the school. When scouts find a student worthy of joining Morgana's, they will approach said student and extend their offer to join an elite school. If the offer is accepted, a stone is given. At the beginning of the school year, all new students are immediately taught Occlumency and the basics of Legilimency to protect the information they learn during their stay from "curious" minds. If the offer is declined, a quick and powerful memory charm is applied so that the student has no memory whatsoever of the scout.

The school's structure itself is massive. There are seven stories of the school and a dungeon. The reason for this is that because the school was once Des Paire's family castle. He used his magic to turn the marvelous castle into a school for the elite of the elite. The first floor is mainly the entrance hall and the dining hall. Second through fourth floors are for the various classrooms, fifth and sixth are for the dormitories, and the seventh floor is where students can train, practice, or otherwise socialize. More specifically, the seventh floor contains a massive library (larger than Hogwart's, which is a feat in itself), a gym with everything one needs to practice duelling and weight lifting, and an enormous common room. The dungeon used to act as a typical dungeon for punishemnts, torture, or interrogations. Now, it is just an unused and dusty "basement" where everything else is stored. Secret passages are aplenty in this castle (what kind of castle _doesn't _have secret passages?) and not even the teachers or headmaster know all the secret passages! Some can be used as shortcuts, some may be used as a cupboard for wayward couples, and some may be used to escape outside.Speaking of the outdoors part of the school, there is a standard size Quidditch pitch, along with a basketball court, football fields (both American and soccer), a Quodpot field (an American Wizarding sport), and a large lake that is used as a swimming pool (without all that nasty chlorine of course).

Morgana's is does not encourage as much competition among students. Instead, the school's students are encouraged to "compete" in the form of studying. Teachers will not require students to attend, but if their grades suffer, they will be ejected from the school with their memories wiped. Students with the highest grades will usually receive a prize, whether it is a medal or trophy, or an expensive gift.

Once they graduate, they leave the school to find employment elsewhere, which is no problem, considering that by the time they _do _leave, they will have masteries over at least one subject. Every single student, whether current or ex, is loyal to the school. Everything else comes second, whether it be family, work, or friends. In fact, the students are so loyal that the majority of them donate their money to the school, so admission fees are not required.

The school is ruled by a council, which the Headmaster is in charge of. The council members consist of three students and three teachers. Each student is voted in by their peers, and there is one student for every two years. One student from the first and second years, one student from the third and fourth years, and one student from the fifth and sixth years. Occasionally, an older student will also cast their votes for a younger student, and their vote will count as three votes, due to their seniority. Ages do not make up the years. Rather, the years mean how long the student has been attending the school. So, for example, a first year could be twenty years old, while a sixth year could be thirteen (even though that _is _pretty rare).

When first years arrive at the school, three rules are drilled into their heads. One, respect your upperclassmen, two, killing a classmate is ok, but you have to have a _good _reason for doing so, and three, betrayal means _death_.

Respect your upperclassmen. This is one of the three fundamental rules of the school. Disrespect is considered to be _almost _as bad as betrayal. Upperclassmen can easily make and underclassman's life hell, but most are too lazy to do so or too busy to do so. To put it simply, obey your upperclassmen and you'll live to see another year.

Attacks are quite common in the school. It may happen several times a year, and the results are much more drastic than Hogwarts. Rather than petty spells being thrown at each other, students may use weapons like swords in this school for a fight. Sometimes, the body doesn't even show up! However, that does not mean that there isn't a punishment.. Killing or attacking without justification like a madman will result in an immediate execution. Assassins-in-training are assigned this job (if this scenario ever happens) as a final exam.

Loyalty to the school is the most important part of the school (and silence, but that's different). If a student brings an outsider into the school, it is considered betrayal, and both student and outsider are immediately executed. Betrayal could also mean disobeying the words of a council member. Another definition for betrayal is doing something that will harm the school as a whole, like selling out their secrets. One student tried to do so early on since the founding of the school, and his corpse still lies in the dungeon today.

Other than that, students may do whatever they want. There have been several times where students are killed by their classmates, either for a minor break in the rules, or because the dead student has offended his killer in a grievous manner.

This school teaches many things. As stated earlier, Occlumency is the first thing learned upon arrival. After that, students pick the subjects they'd like to study, and they are immediately given a schedule based on the their classes. No houses are present in this school, like Hogwarts' houses. This ensures less bitter rivalry and eliminates (mostly) favoritism.

Of course, almost all of these things about the school are unknown to the majority of the Wizarding population. In fact, the only thing they _do _know is that the school produces geniuses. So you understand, you can't tell anyone about this...right? It would really suck if someone were to hypothetically kill you in your sleep after I went through the task of telling you these secrets, eh?

_---_

Rikers. Ah, Rikers, on the other hand, has a reputation as bad as Morgana's is good. I mean honestly, a mercenary production factory shouldn't have a good reputation right? Basically, it is a school for mercenaries. Its students are known to be legendary killers, trained in the arts of silent assassination, stealth, information gathering, and other skills a mercenary might find useful.

Their students are top-of-the-notch assassins, spies, recon people, and fighters. You give them a job, your success rate is immediately boosted to a ninety nine percent. Of course, you'd first have to _find _them, or find one of their contacts. Even that is hard though.

Unfortunately, that's all the the information I could gather about this legendary school of killers.

No wait. One last thing concerning the two schools. What was that big secret again? Hmm...Oh! That's right. They're the same school.

_--- _

Author's Note: I got the idea of Harry-goes-to-assassin-school from A Shadowed Soul by devilblondie (go read it!). The name Riker's is also from blondie's story, as well as some of the basic foundations of the school.

Answer to Reviews

Concerning the last chapter, I got a shitload of reviews complaining about how stupid it was for Harry to lose his mask cuz Sirius slapped his mask, or cuz I unveiled him so early in the story. In answer to all of those reviews, first off, Harry was just in a fight with Bellatrix Lestrange, and even though he beat her, she was still strong enough to affect his mask. No I will not make Harry stay with his family (so no worries). Harry is still a "badass assassin", but he has MORALS (like no harming innocents or women, unless his job is to kill a woman, as in the case of Lestrange). He's a bit cold towards others (especially his parents), but that doesn't mean he's cold to every damn person he meets...just most of them.

Uhh...let's see...to Jabarber, he may not like Dumbledore, but he has no reason to really hate the man, just his parents. Dumbledore has mistakenly portrayed Michael as the BWL, and no he suffers from the consequences.

To people saying he shouldn't have met Dumbledore, I'll just say that Harry is curious. He's an assassin, and as such, money is most important. If there's a chance that someone from such a powerful family (House of Dumbledore, Potter, Black, etc) will pay him to do something, then he'll go and "talk" with them. If it is apparent that they aren't gonna pay him he'll leave, which is exactly what happened at the end of chapter 3.

To the early unveiling thing, eh, so what? I'm impatient. And again, so what? They know his name and that he's strong, but they don't know anything else about him, like what he can do or what has happened in the ten years he's been gone. After I post a lot more chapters, I _might _go back and redo that chapter, so watch out for that. Don't expect me to do that anytime soon though.


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